#59 • volume 11, issue 4 • 2015 www.inparkmagazine.com 39 WhiteWater’s Slideboarding brings gaming technology to waterparks 17 36 Waterpark attendance Jurassic World, zoos & figures & NEW analysis hybridization Making the connection between waterparks, zoos and aquaria GGE #59 • volume 11, issue 4 Growing green 6 Gilroy Gardens rolls out new educational attractions • by Christine Kerr Bringing animals to light 10 Lighting for aquaria and zoos • by Patrick Gallegos Waterparks: what does the future hold? 14 Predictions for the market • by Monty Lunde The rising tide of waterpark attendance 17 Trends show continued global growth • by Brian Sands Good design habitats 22 Designing to celebrate and protect animals • by Jeremy Railton Hot in Cleveland (and other zoo exhibits) 28 Letting animals swim, soak and splash • by Judith Rubin The road to blue world 32 SeaWorld San Antonio evolves and expands • by Joe Kleiman Attraction hybridization 36 What Jurassic World teaches us about zoos • by Stacey Ludlum and Eileen Hill Changing the waterpark game 39 Slideboarding brings gaming technology to waterslides • by Martin Palicki Ocean Park Hong Kong 45 Enhancing the conservation message through experience • by Martin Palicki GGE staff & contributors advertisers EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Alcorn McBride 38 Martin Palicki Patrick Gallegos DEAL 5 Eileen Hill DNP 16 CO-EDITOR Christine Kerr Judith Rubin Stacey Ludlum Electrosonic 9 Monty Lunde Entertainment Design Corporation 34 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jeremy Railton The Goddard Group 2 Joe Kleiman Brian Sands Kim Rily IAAPA Attractions Expo 35 Mitch Rily DESIGN Polin Waterparks back cover mcp, llc Technifex 11 InPark Magazine (ISSN 1553-1767) is published Such material must be accompanied by a self- Triotech 13 five times a year by Martin Chronicles adressed and stamped envelope to be returned. Publishing, LLC. 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WhiteWater 47 WI 53207. Shipping address: 2349 E Ohio Ave. Postmaster: Send address changes to InPark Milwaukee, WI 53207. Phone: 262-412-7107. Magazine 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI Zebec 44 Printing by Short Run Printing 53207. Subscriptions are available annually for $40 per year ($55 international). Contents © 2015 InPark Magazine. All rights reserved. Nothing in the magazine may be Opinions expressed in editorial matter are not reproduced or used in any manner without the necessarily those of InPark Magazine or its prior written permission of the magazine. InPark publishers, Martin Chronicles Publishing, LLC. Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. COVER: LED targets change color as a player whizzes by on her Slideboard. Full story on p 39. Cover credit: WhiteWater www.inparkmagazine.com 3 Making the When you look at nature, connection it looks back at you Martin Palicki, Judith Rubin, IPM editor IPM co-editor t the recent SATE conference (produced by the rbanization marches inexorably on, wild places AThemed Entertainment Association and hosted Ushrink and the longing for nature intensifies. by Carnegie Mellon University) several speakers In my own neighborhood in Saint Louis I’ve been th st talked about the importance of creating meaningful impressed by how many people now share the 19 - 21 April 2016 bonds between institutions and guests. Google’s fervor for native plant gardens. Often we don’t know Zabeel Halls 4, 5 & 6 Josh Jeffery showed a video of how even Gmail how much something means to us, how much Dubai World Trade Centre can become an emotional product. Anna Musun- we have taken its continuance for granted, or how Miller from the Indianapolis Zoological Society integral it is to the world, until we are on the point of Dubai, UAE reminded us that we need to share the importance losing it. A single creature – the Monarch butterfly, of conservation with guests. More importantly, we for instance - becomes a symbol of many others. have to give guests we have inspired a reaction in a way to act, or else hopelessness and despair can There are many contradictions and ironies in the multiply. ways human concerns for wildlife are expressed – by individuals, groups, media and institutions - and In other words, it’s all about making connections. the various things being advocated as solutions. Connecting people to experiences, to stories and to Resolving that is beyond our scope. This discussion is opportunities to effect change. People want to feel about how to shape experiences that address those connected to the world and to one another, and sensibilities and help build upon the motivation to experience-based institutions and entertainment do something meaningful. have golden opportunities to do just that. AST & AFRICA DLE E When human population was much lower and MID Playing off of our intrinsic competitive nature is one wildlife much more abundant, exhibiting animals THE IN option. Musun-Miller’s Indianapolis Zoo offers a “race away from their habitat didn’t cause us the pangs it OW E SH Why Exhibit in a cheetah” game for kids to see how fast they can now does. The best new animal exhibits are invested TH RAD sprint, and the fifty-cent entry fee is donated to a E FO E T in providing experiences for the animals that allow REMO ISUR DEAL 2016 cheetah preservation fund. humans to sense what the animals’ world is like. ST AMUSEMENT & LE Today, we want to witness animals being themselves, Waterparks are turning to products like Slideboarding enjoying themselves, living their lives – and we want to connect guests to one another as they compete to see their joy up close. Amusement park investment, Networking with management, operation, for the best score on a waterslide. The technology is amusement industry Groundbreaking and franchising Entertainment brand stakeholders technology and design turning a solitary experience into a shared game. It is not a perfect universe, but a better one, when concepts, theming, of amusement spaces everyone has the opportunity to play in the water, and expansion People aren’t the only ones making connections. to climb, to sunbathe, to look out at the world and Our entire industry is recognizing the links between return the gaze of others from a favorite vantage theme parks, waterparks, zoos, aquaria and museums. point and to make decisions about where they will go next. This issue of IPM highlights those connections and the variety of ways in which they are being NEW implemented, specifically across waterparks, zoos SEGMENT and aquaria. There is real growth opportunity here for those who understand how these worlds are InPark News Editor Joe Kleiman (joe@ intersecting and those who have the skills to help inparkmagazine.com) corresponds for IPM online and in print, specializing in make the connections. design and technology for attractions, museums and giant screen cinema. He **Look for InPark at EAS, WWA and IAAPA during the lives in Sacramento with his dog, Bucky. busy fall trade show season** P.O. Box 50006, Dubai, U.A.E. | Tel: +971 4 3435777 | Fax: +971 4 3436115 Some Subhra Lahiri - Project Manager, Mobile: +971 50 6452752, Email: [email protected] www.dealmiddleeastshow.com 4 www.inparkmagazine.com Lilia Malance - Project Executive, Mobile: +971 50 4576422, Email: [email protected] 19 th - 21st April 2016 Zabeel Halls 4, 5 & 6 Dubai World Trade Centre Dubai, UAE & AFRICA E EAST IDDL HE M IN T HOW Why Exhibit in T DE S HE TRA FOREM URE DEAL 2016 OST AMUSEMENT & LEIS Amusement park investment, Networking with management, operation, amusement industry Groundbreaking and franchising Entertainment brand stakeholders technology and design concepts, theming, of amusement spaces and expansion NEW SEGMENT P.O. Box 50006, Dubai, U.A.E. | Tel: +971 4 3435777 | Fax: +971 4 3436115 Some Subhra Lahiri - Project Manager, Mobile: +971 50 6452752, Email: [email protected] www.dealmiddleeastshow.com Lilia Malance - Project Executive, Mobile: +971 50 4576422, Email: [email protected] Garlic themed park mascots Gill and Roy (short for Royale) welcome young guests and their families to the park. Photos courtesy of BaAM Productions and Gilroy Gardens ilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, located near GSan Jose, California, is at an important point in its Growing green evolution as a registered non-profit: building upon the success of its docent-led educational programs to create new ways to integrate formal and informal education into all aspects of the guest experience. The park’s success over the past 10 years with about 400,000 annual visits has given the Gilroy Gardens management team the opportunity to revitalize existing attractions and add new products that will keep the experience fresh for their strong member base while attracting new visitors. The approach is imbued with the spirit one would expect in a Gilroy Gardens Family Theme place “where fun grows on trees.” Park rolls out new educational Successfully expanding the guest experience means developing carefully chosen projects that the park’s attractions leadership knows will resonate with their family audience. Gilroy Gardens’ stated mission is to “educate and inspire families, especially children, to appreciate horticulture and the importance of trees in our lives by providing by Christine Kerr, BaAM Productions fun and memories in a beautiful garden setting.” New attractions must strike a balance of providing fun and authentic experiences that also provide opportunities for learning. Introducing Water Oasis & Green Barn BaAM Productions began a collaborative process with Gilroy Gardens in fall 2013 to assist with art direction and 6 www.inparkmagazine.com signage and graphics for their new Water Oasis water play creativity, exploration and discovery” - to explore and area. This $2.5 million investment was the largest capital be inspired by the world they live in through engaging project for the park since it first opened in 2001 (the arts- and science-focused activities. The final result is a original name was Bonfante Gardens, which was changed completely transformed, open and airy space, that’s now in 2007).